The First Prince of the Ming Dynasty

Zhu Chenhao then kept Zhu Yi behind to explain something to him.

No matter how unwilling Zhu Gonggui was, he could only leave with Liu Yangzheng and the others.

"My son," Zhu Chenhao said earnestly, as if he had planned everything out in advance, "This time, in addition to the necessary guards of the Prince's Mansion, there will be twenty assassins accompanying you to the capital, ready to help you deal with those who may cause trouble for the Prince's Mansion in the future."

Zhu Yi thought to himself, "Is it too few to give only twenty assassins?"

And are these assassins really reliable?

Don't let things fall apart in the end and end up getting me arrested first!

Zhu Chenhao said, "In addition, I have prepared many gifts. I have made a list for you. I will also give you guidance on who to give them to after you arrive in the capital, who is worth associating with, and who might be able to help the Prince's Mansion."

Zhu Yi said, "Father, don't you think that sending the emperor to fight in the northwest, keeping him away from court officials, is the best way for us to develop our strength?"

"I have the same idea as you, but... you said that the emperor will go to the northwest in two years. Can we really persuade him to go now? Will we encounter a lot of resistance?" Zhu Chenhao was a little worried.

"In fact, the emperor had long planned to go west to command troops, and this was very much in Jiang Bin's interest. At present, Jiang Bin's position by the emperor's side is far inferior to that of Qian Ning. As long as we can sow discord appropriately, we will make Jiang Bin believe that only by sending the emperor to the northwest can he have a place to use his talents, and then we can achieve our goal."

Zhu Yi's words seemed to be a plan for the Prince's Mansion, but in reality, they were just a way of appeasing Zhu Chenhao.

From his own perspective, he didn't actually want to stay in Nanchang for long.

It seems like one could pursue a career they desire, such as manufacturing gunpowder for ignition devices, and accumulate considerable wealth...

But when the day of rebellion actually comes, the number of people in Nanchang, plus firearms, may not be enough.

The rudimentary form of firearms could not completely overwhelm cold weapons, and rebellion was too influenced by factors such as timing and location. In Zhu Yi's view, even if he were given a modern army of considerable numbers, he might not be able to succeed in rebellion in the Ming Dynasty.

The government troops also had firearms, and in astonishing numbers. They also had well-trained elite soldiers, and there was a military genius like Wang Shouren. The battle was very difficult to win.

Zhu Yi actually wanted to move to another place to develop his career, mainly for his own future.

Zhu Chenhao said, "I just don't know if that dog of an emperor will believe you, my son. If he truly values ​​you so much..."

"Father, rest assured, my heart is with our Prince's Mansion," Zhu Yi said. "We are bound by fate and I will not be bought off by the Emperor. I am well-versed in history and will not get involved in those pointless political disputes. During this trip to the capital, I will also gather intelligence and understand the situation on the ground. I will try to recruit as many people as possible who can help us achieve our great goals in the future, so that... it will also make things easier for Father to accomplish his ambitions."

This made Zhu Yi realize that there could be misunderstandings between father and son.

If he really becomes the crown prince, or even the emperor in the future, how will Prince Ning view himself?

Therefore, he had to make it clear that everything was in preparation for Prince Ning's future rebellion and great achievements, not for his own sake... This was also to get Zhu Chenhao to give him more authority.

"My son, going to the capital is still too dangerous. I will do my best to help you succeed. If you need anything, remember to tell me. Gongsun Jin is a capable man. If he cannot help you, you can do as you see fit." Zhu Chenhao said with great reluctance, "When we achieve great things in the future and the throne falls to our Ning family, the humiliation our ancestors suffered will be swept away."

Zhu Yi quickly bowed and said, "Your son will remember your teachings, Father."

While saying this, he was thinking to himself, "You are a rebellious prince with such a bad reputation in history. Do you really think you can completely control me?"

Lacking vision and ability, even his rebellion has made him a laughing stock. Yet he always wants to control everything himself. Isn't he afraid of getting himself into trouble?

……

……

After Zhu Yi came out, Gongsun Jin immediately went in to await his orders.

Zhu Yi originally intended to see Tang Yin again, but before he could even leave the palace gate, he was stopped by Zhu Gonggui.

"Third brother, what exactly happened? How come the layout of the Prince's mansion changed overnight?" Zhu Gonggui asked angrily. "What kind of trick did you use on Father?"

"Brother, why do you say that?" Zhu Yi asked with a very calm expression.

Zhu Gonggui pointed towards the main hall of the Prince's Mansion and said, "Do you know what fate holds? Even if you don't, you should understand who should shoulder the responsibility for the future of the Prince's Mansion. Can you really take on all of this?"

Zhu Yi couldn't help but feel somewhat disappointed in his second brother.

You say you still can't grasp the situation? Are you genuinely stupid, or are you just pretending to be?

"Brother, let me ask you something from the bottom of my heart. What do you think was the biggest criterion Father used when choosing between you and me to send his son to the capital?" Zhu Yi asked.

Zhu Gonggui said, "Of course I can help my father."

Zhu Yi said, "You've been indulging in eating and drinking lately, and I've heard you're rarely sober. If you go to the capital, can you guarantee you won't become an alcoholic and will be able to navigate the many powerful figures and wolves in the capital with ease?"

"Hmph! As if you can actually do it?" Zhu Gonggui said with obvious disdain.

Zhu Yi smiled and asked, "Let me ask you one more question: if Father really rebels in the future, what will happen to the one who stays in the capital?"

"this……"

Zhu Gonggui seemed to wake up instantly.

Previously, he was just unwilling to be overshadowed by his younger brother, but when it came to life and death, he began to understand the art of adapting to changing circumstances.

Zhu Yi asked, "Do you think it's easier for me, the emperor's uncle, to vie for the position of crown prince, or for my father to raise an army and become emperor?"

"Um……"

Zhu Gonggui also chose not to answer this time.

Zhu Yi said, "Father kept you by his side only to better supervise you, so that you could inherit the Prince's legacy in the future. Even if Father couldn't complete something, he could entrust it to you. I'm someone who went to the capital nominally to vie for the position of Crown Prince, but in reality, I'm a hostage, and secretly I have to help Father win over court officials, and I'm always being targeted by those political enemies... Do you really have to compare yourself to me?"

Zhu Gonggui finally seemed to have come to some understanding. He gritted his teeth and said, "But before, he always wanted me to go."

Zhu Yi sighed, "Dangerous tasks always need to be done by someone. Don't you even consider who I went with?"

"Tang Yin?" Zhu Gonggui frowned. "I just asked Gongsun Jin, and he said Tang Yin can predict the future? Is that true? Can't we ask him to predict whether the Prince's Mansion will achieve great things?"

Zhu Yi said helplessly, "Do you really think he can predict everything? Don't you know the saying 'Man proposes, God disposes'? And why do you think Tang Yin wanted me to go to the capital with him?"

Zhu Gonggui seemed to have a sudden realization, exclaiming, "I understand now! Tang Yin wanted to drag someone to the capital to take the fall, so he could escape back to Suzhou? Does that mean Tang Yin was faking his madness all along?"

Zhu Yi nodded.

In my heart, I think that as long as you can convince yourself to accept it, that's more important than anything else.

In short, whatever makes you happy is your choice to believe it.